Middleboro sees two deaths by alleged drunken drivers in three weeks

Monica DeMello is the second Middleboro resident to be killed on Route 44 by an alleged drunk driver in three weeks. James Braga, a former Middleboro High School teacher and coach, was killed March 9 when he was hit by an alleged drunk driver on Route 44, not far from his home.

Monica DeMello is the second Middleboro resident to be killed on Route 44 by an alleged drunken driver in three weeks.

James Braga, a former Middleboro High School teacher and coach, was killed March 9 when he was hit by a man accused of drunken driving on Route 44, not far from his home.

“It’s just another tragedy that the town has to deal with,” Selectmen Chairman Alfred P. Rullo Jr. said Sunday night. “It’s awful. It’s just tragic.”

Rullo said the town has for years asked the state to make improvements to Route 44 “but nothing like that will stop drunk drivers.”

Braga, 61, was an Air Force veteran, husband and father of three. He was a retired business teacher who also headed the DECA program at the high school and served as the soccer coach.

Zachary J. Lemmo, 20, of 107 Oak St., was charged with motor vehicle homicide while driving drunk when he allegedly ran a red light and hit Braga. Lemmo was released on $50,000 cash bail. His next court date is April 8.

Selectmen voted last week to honor the memory of Braga by naming the access road at the high school “Braga’s Path.”